John f



(No Model.)

J. F. WOLFF.

WATER GLOSET.

Patented Sept. 18, 1894.

l 'l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. wOLEE, OE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIeNoR TO TITEL. wOLFE MANU-FACTURINC. COMPANY, OE SAME PLACE.

wATER-CLOs'ET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 526,065, datedSeptember 18, 1894. Application Bled March 6, 1893. Renewed August 2,1894. Serial No. 519,297. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. WOLFF, a citizen of the United States,residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois,

have invented a new and useful Improvement in Water-Closets, of whichthe following is a specification. Y

l My invention relates to improvements in Water closets, and moreparticularly to im- [o provements in that class of water closetscommonly known as pan closets.

The object of my invention is to provide a closet of a simple, efficientand durable construction, specially adapted for use upon railz 5 Waycars, and serves both as a urinal and closet, in order that the spacethat would be occupied by a separate urinal may be saved; and wherein orby the operation of which the supply of water may be greatly economized2o without interfering with the cleanliness and proper operation of thecloset. In railway water supply closets where the supply of watercarried is necessarily limited, it is a matter of great importance thatthe principle and mode of operation of the closet should besuch that avminimum quantity of water, consistent with vkeeping the closet clean andin proper condition, should be used,because otherwise the water supplyis likely to be exhausted during 3o a considerable portion of the time;and in such case the closet is likely to become very foul owing to thefailure of the water supply nec-l essary for its proper operation. Inrailway closets also the available room or space is necessarily verylimited or contracted, and for this reason it is important that thecloset should be so constructed as to be available for use as a urinal,in order that the space that would be occupied by a separate urinal 4omay be saved; and as the use of the closet as a urinal would necessarilyresultin unnecessary use or waste of the water supply, one of theprincipal objects of my invention has been to so construct the closetthat it may be used as a urinal without requiring the use or waste ofwater; and, to further economize the quantity of Water required, afurther object has been to so construct the closet that when it is to beused asia closet a limited 5o supply of water will be first deliveredinto the pan so as to partially fill, flush or moisten it and thusprevent fecal matter from adhering to the pan, and then a further supplyor water delivered into the pan as it is being emptied, tilted ordischarged, so as to insure a proper and free discharge of the contentsof the pan. At each use of the closet therefore there are two limitedsupplies of water delivered to the pan; and by thus dividing the watersupply into two parts I am enabled to keep the closet in a clean andproper condition by a much less quanity of water than would otherwise benecessary.

My invention consists in the means I employ to accomplish these newresults or objects. 'lhat is to say it consists first in a closet havinga pan, seat and cover and a valve for admitting a supply of watercombined with mechanism connecting the seat and cover with the panwhereby the pan is 7o caused to remain in its normally open positionwhen both seat and cover are raised, as well as when both seat and coverare down, to the end that when both seat and cover are raised the panmay be in its normally open position to adapt the closet for use as aurinal.

It further consists in a closet havingaswinging pan, a hinged seat,hinged cover, and a valve for admitting a supply of Water, combined withmechanism connecting the seat and cover with the valve, whereby bothseat and cover may be raised to adjust the closet for use as a urinal,and both seat and cover lowered or let down without operating the valveeither by raising or by lowering the seat and cover, thus enabling thecloset to be used as a urinal without use or waste of the water supply.

It further consists in a closet having a seat, cover, pan and valve andmechanism connecting the seat and cover with the valve and pan', wherebyboth seat and cover may be raised or lowered together without operatingeither the pan or valve, the seat and cover being so arranged in respectto each other 95 that the front edge of the seat projects beyoud thefront edge of the cover, the front edge of the cover being beveled olfso that the cover cannot be conveniently lifted except by taking hold ofthe seat and lifting it also.

It further consists in a closet, hinged seat,

ICC

cover, pan and valve, and mechanism connecting the seat and cover withthe pan and valve, whereby both seat and cover may be raised or loweredsimultaneously without operating the pan or valve, and whereby the panand valve are operated to swing or turn the pan into position for useand admit a limited supply of water thereto upon lowering the seat todeliver a preliminary Hush or supio ply of water to the pan, before thecloset is used; and whereby also the pan and valve are again operated bythe lowering of the cover to tilt or discharge the pan and deliver .manafterwash or supply of water to the pan to insure the proper dischargeof its contents and the keeping of the same in a clean coudition.

It further consists in a closet having a hinged seat and cover and awater supply zo valve, and mechanism connecting the seat and cover withsaid valve, said mechanism comprising a vibrating toggle link orequivalent device arranged and adapted to pass a center and thus operatethe valve as said link or device vibrates or moves in both directionspast said center. By this means I am enabled by a simple mechanism todeliver the water to the pan each time the closet is used in twodistinct supplies, one before and one after- 3o that is to say when thepan is turned into position for use, and the-other when the pan is beingturned into its normal or open position to discharge its contents.

My invention further consists in a closet having a time or compressioncup valve for delivering a supply of water thereto, of an operatinglever and toggle link connection for actuating said valve both upon theup stroke and the down stroke of the lever.

It further consists in the novel construction of parts or devices and inthe novel combinations of parts or devices herein shown and described,as will be more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, Ihave shown a railway car water closet embodying my invention, andexhibiting one good form or construction of mechanism for practicing it,and that which 5o I believe to be the best form now known tome.

ln said drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a closet showing theparts in their normal position. Fig 2 is a like view showing the closetwith its parts in position for use as a urinal. Fig. 3 is a like viewshowing the closet in position for use as a closet. Fig. 4 is anenlarged detail plan view of certain parts to be hereinafter described;and Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the time or comoo pression-cupvalve.

In said drawings similar letters of reference indicate like partsthroughout all the figures. In the drawings A represents the casing orframe; A', the tioor or support upon which the closet rests; B, thehinged seat; B the hinged cover; C, the discharge chamber; C', the bowl;D, the movable swinging or hinged pan D', its shaft or pivot; F, thevalve; F', its pistou, cock, or movable part; F2, the Water supply pipe,and fthe connecting pipe leading from the valve to the bowl. All theseparts are or may be of any well known or suitable construction. Thefront edge b of the cover B', however, is preferably beveled off,substantially'as shown in Fig. 1, and does not project over the frontedge of the seat; so that the cover cannot be conveniently lifted exceptby taking hold of the seat and raising it also; and the valve F is,preferably, of the well known time or compression-cup type, so that alimited supply of water may be delivered each time the valve is openedwithout employing overhead or elevated water supply tanks. The pan shaftor pivot D is journaled on the cast metal chamber C at its inner end orportion; but at its outer end a supporting bracket D2 is employed togive additional support to the outer projecting endof the shaft D. Thisbracket D2 has a base D3 adapted to be secured by screws to the tioor,and it is preferably made in two parts or sections, the upper part orsection tl' being preferably of brass, and secured to the lower or mainpart D2'by bolts d2.

Secured rigidly to the pan shaft D is a vibratinglever G for operatingthe pan and the valve; as a single lever or operating device ispreferably employed for actuating both the pan and the valve. Thisvibrating lever G has an arm g connected by a toggle pivoted link f withthe piston or movable part F of the valve F.

H is a pawl pivoted to the seat B, and adapted to engage one arm G ofthe operating lever G; and I-l is a pawl pivoted to the cover B andadapted to engage the opposite end or arm G2 of the lever G. The arm Gof the lever G has a slot or .fork g to serve as a guide for the pawll'I, and the arm G2 of the lever G has a slot or fork g2 to serve as aguide to keep the pawl I-I in position. The pawl II has one notch ortooth h which cngages the end or arm G of thelever G to operate saidlever when the seat B is being lowered and thus swing the pan from itsnormal or hanging position to its horizontal position for use, as shownin Fig. 3. Thepawl I-lhas a notch, tooth, shoulder or projection 71, forengaging the opposite end or arm G2 of the lever G and thus operatingsaid lever to swing the pau from its horizontal position down into itsnormal or hanging `position to discharge the contents thereof when thecover B is lowered, and the pawl II has two other notches, shoulders,teeth or projections h2 h2 for engaging the drip device K.

' The function of the trip device K is to disengage the pawl I-I fromthe operating lever G when both seat and cover are being lowered atonce, so that this may be done without operating the pan or valve, andto disengage the pawl II from` the lever G, (after the pan and valvehave been operated by lowering the seat alone) so that the pan and valvemay IOO be again Operated through the pawl H bythe lowering of the'coverB alone. Asimple and convenient, and the preferable form of constructionof the trip K, is to make it inthe formof an ordinary lever the samebeing arranged so that the end 7c of itis engaged by the pawl Hor theteeth or projections thereon, while the other end of the trip lever or aprojection k thereon engages the other pawl H. The trip lever K ispreferably pivoted by a pin 7a2 to the bracket D2, or the upper sectiond thereof. The piston or movable part F ofthe valve is furnished with asocket to receive and support the end of the vibrating toggle link f',so that after the link and arm g of the lever G pass the center thefurther movement of the toggle link and lever f', g, will not retract ordraw back the piston F of the valve. The lever G, oritssupporting shaftD" to which it is rigidly secured, is furnished with a s'top projectiong3 that engages a corresponding projection on the discharge chambercasting C, for the purpose of limiting the downward or swinging movementof the pan, and thus prevent the pan striking against the back wall ofthe chamberV C and being injured.

The operation is as follows: To use the closet as a urinal the seat Band 4cover B are lifted together, this operation imparting no movementto the operating lever G, and of course none to the pan or valve. Inthis operation of raising the seat and cover the tooth or projection h2on the pawl H engages the end lc of the trip lever K and vibrates thistrip lever into the position indicated inv Fig. 2, and then after thecloset has been used .as a urinal, :the pan at this time remaining swungdown or in its normal position and out of the way, the seat and coverare simultaneously lowered, this simultaneous lowering of the seat andcover imparting no movement to Y the operating lever G, and of coursenone to the pan or to the valve; because the tooth or projection h2 onthe pawl H engages the trip lever K and causes the opposite end 7cthereof to disengage the notch h of the pawl H from the end G of theoperating lever G. The closet may thus be used as a urinal without useor waste of water.

To use the closet as a closet, the seat and cover are first both raised,this operation irnparting no movement to the operating lever, pan orvalve; and then the seat B is lowered into position for use, asindicated in Fig. 3. This operation of lowering the seat B lalone causesthe pawl H to actuate the operating eration of lowering the cover causesthe pawl H to first engage the triplever K and V thus actuate said triplever to disengage the notch h of the pawl H from the operating lever G;and then the further movement of the pawl H causes the same to engage ath the end G2 of the operating lever and thus vibrate said lever in theopposite direction and tilt the pan and discharge its contents andreturn it to its normal or hanging position; while at the same time thisup or return stroke of the vibrating lever G causes the tog- `gle leverg and link f to again pass the center and again open the valve anddeliver an afterwash supply of water to the pan while it is in the actof being tilted to discharge its contents, thus insuring its properdischarge and keeping the pan in a cleanly condition.

As the front edge of the seat B projects beyond the cover B, and as thefront edge of the cover B is beveled off, the cover B cannot bepractically or readily raised without first lifting the seat B. Howeverif .the cover B is separately raised, this act will not actuate theoperating lever and of course not turn the pan into position or actuatethe valve, and if the seat B should be then separately raised, this actwill likewise have no effect on the operating lever G, pan or valve. So,too, after seat and cover have both been raised and the seat separatelylowered into position for use the pan cannot be tilted or discharged orthe valve operated by again raising and lowering the seat separately, asthe pawl H connected with the seat can have no further -operation on theoperating lever Gruntil after said lever G has been actuated by the pawll-l connected with the cover B. This will be readily understood fromFig; 3 of the drawings.

The tooth or projection h3 on the pawl H is for the purpose of safety toprevent the trip lever K/ being moved out of its proper relation to theother parts by a partial raising andthen lowering of the cover.

The operating lever G is furnished with a weight G3 for the purpose ofcarrying the operating lever down to its normal position after it hasbeen partially pushed down by the shoulder h engaging the end G2 of theoperating lever. For convenience the operating lever is furnished with apin g5 at its end G2 to engage the shoulder h. The tooth projection orcam surface h4 on the pawl H engaging the trip lever K serves to holdsaid trip lever in positioun to be engaged by the tooth h2, as

will be clearly apparentvfrom Figs. 2 and 3.

In my new combination of the valve and pan, with the scat and cover,neither valve each separately and in their proper order. That is to sayafter the se'atandcoverare both raised the separate downward movement ofthe seat will operate the valve and pan and then the separate downwardmovement of the cover will again operate the valve and pan, the formeroperation bringing the pan into position for use and the latter emptyingthe pan and returning it to its normal or hanging position; and afterbeing thus operated both seat and cover must be raised before the valvecan be again operated by 1 either. By simply raising and lowering thecover alone no movement is communicated to the operating lever or to thevalve or pan; and likewise, too, after the seat has been loweredseparately and the valve and pan thus once operated, the furtherlowering and raising of the seat alone communicates no movement whateverto the operating lever, valve or pan.

I claim- 1. In a Water closet, the combination of a hinged seat andcover with a swinging pan, a water supply valve and mechanism connectingthe seat and coverwith the pan and valve for operating the same, andsaid mechanism having a trip device whereby the seat and cover may beraised and the seat and cover also lowered simultaneously withoutoperating either the pan or valve, substantially as specified.

2. In a water closet., the combination with a hinged seat and cover of aswinging pan and mechanism connecting the seat and cover with the panfor operating the same and said mechanism having a trip device wherebythe seat and cover may be raised or lowered simultaneously withoutoperating the pan, substantially as specified.

3. In a water closet, the combination with a hinged seat and cover of awater supply valve and mechanism connecting the seat and cover with thevalve for operating the same and said mechanism having a trip devicewhereby the seat and cover may be raised or lowered simultaneouslywithout operating the valve, substantially as specified.

4. In a water closet, the combination with a hinged seat and cover of aswinging pan, mechanism connected to the seat for raising the pan intoits horizontal position by the lowering movement of the seat, andmechanism connected to the cover for returning the pan to its hanging ornormal position by the lowering movement of the cover, substantially asspecified.

5. In a water closet, the combination with a hinged seat and cover of aswinging pan, mechanism connected to the seat for raising the pan intoits normal position by the lowering movement of the seat, mechanismconnected to the cover for returning the pan to its hanging or normalposition by the lowering movement of the cover, and a trip device toprevent either of said mechanisms from operating the pan when the seatand cover are lowered together or simultaneously, substantially asspecified.

6. In a water closet, the combination with a hinged seat and cover of aswinging pan, mechanism connected to the seat for raising the pan intoits horizontal position by the lowering movement ot the seat, mechanismconnected to the cover for returning the pan to its hanging or normalposition by the lowering movement of the cover, a water supply valve andmechanism connected to the cover and connected to the seat for operatingsaid valve by the lowering movement of the seat and again by thelowering movement of the cover, substantially as specified.

7. In a water closet, the combination with a hinged seat and cover of aswinging pan, mechanism connected to the seat for raising the pan intoits horizontal position bythe lowering movement of the seat, mechanism'connected to the cover for returning the pan to its hanging or normalposition by the lowering movement of the cover, a water supply valve andmechanism connected to the cover and connected to the seat for operatingsaid valve by the lowering movement ot' the seat and again by thelowering movement of the cover, and a trip device to prevent saidmechanism from operating either the pan or the valve when the cover andseat are lowered together or simultaneously, substantially asspecified.,

8. In a water closet, the combination of a hinged seat and cover with aswinging pan, an operating lever for said pan, and two pawls foractuating said lever, one connected to the seat and one to the cover,substantially as specified.

9. In a water closet, the combination of a hinged seat and cover with aswinging pan, an operating lever for said pan, and two pawls foractuating said lever, one connected to the seat and one to the cover,and a trip leveror device for disengaging said pawls, substantially asspecified.

10. In a water closet, the combination of a hinged seat and cover with awater supply valve, an operating lever G, and two pawls l-I and I-I foractuating said lever, one of said pawls being connected to the seat andthe other to the cover, substantially as specified.

11. In a water closet, the combination of a hinged seat and cover with awater supply valve, an operating lever G, and two pawls H and H' foractuating said lever, one of said pawls being connected to the seat andthe other to the cover, and a trip lever or device K, for disengagingsaid pawls substantially as specified.

12. In a water closet, the combination of a hinged seat and cover with aswinging pan 'and a water supply valve, a lever G for operating said panand valve and two pawlsI-I and I-I for actuating said lever, oneconnected to the seat and one to the cover, substantially as specified.

13. In a water closet, the combination of a hinged seat and cover with aswinging pan and a water supply valve, a lever G for op- IIO and watersupply valve, a lever G for operating said pan and valve and two pawls Hand H for actuating said lever, one connected to the seat and one to thecover, and a toggle llnk f connecting said lever G and valve, andarranged to operate said valve both on `the up stroke and down stroke ofsaid lever G, substantially as specified.

1 5. In a water closet, the combination with a hlnged seat and cover ofa swinging pan and water supply valve, operating lever G,

pawl III furnished with notch or projection h and pivotally connected tothe seat, pawl II pivot-ally connected to the cover and provided withnotches or projections h and h2, and a trip lever K, located betweensaid pawls for disengagingthe same from the operating leversubstantially as specified.

16. In a Water closet, the combination with a hinged seat and cover of aswinging pan and water supply valve, operating lever G, pawl I-Ifurnished with notch or projection h and pivotally connected to theseat, pawl I-I pivotally connected to the cover and provided withnotchesor projections h', h2, and h3, Substantially as specified.

17. In a water closet, the combination of a hinged seat and cover with aswinging pan, a water supply valve and mechanism connecting the seat andcover with the pan and valve for operating the same, and said connectingmechanism including a trip device whereby the seat and cover may beraised and the'seat and cover also lowered simultaneously withoutopening either .the pan or valve, the front edge of said seat projectingbeyond the front edge of the cover and the front edge ofthe cover beingbeveled off to prevent the cover being separately raised, substantiallyas specified.

18. In a water closet the combination of a swinging pan and water supplyvalve, witha 'hinged seat and cover and connecting mechanism foroperating the valve and pan by the separate downward movement of theseat,

and again by the separate downward move- JOHN F. WOLFF.

Witnesses:

H. MUNDAY, EDMUND ADoooK.

